Friday, May 23, 2014

Retail Patch and More

You have probably noticed by now that the 1.10 update for Euro Truck Simulator 2 has been made available also for the non-Steam version of the game a few days ago already. Usually we don't shout loud about it immediately when it happens to avoid an immediate bandwidth spike on download servers. If you haven't noticed yet, go grab it: http://www.eurotrucksimulator2.com/update.php.

There seems to be a heated discussion in the comments section of the blog anytime the Steam vs. non-Steam topic pops up. There are many valid arguments both ways, but the crucial element for us is not selling stuff or even distributing stuff, it's not even about preventing piracy. It's all about long-term maintenance and giving the players a good service.

Valve with all their resources took some 10 years of Steam improvements to come up with a robust system for games that operate an ecosystem of DLCs. Doing something similar on our own is of course not impossible, but it's hard. And the way we see it, it's not the smartest investment of time and money if we can just use what is a widely accepted solution.

Very often when we change some internals in the engine, data formats of our game assets change. Mod community could confirm that things tend to break for them from time to time, even though we spend considerable time trying to provide a migration strategy or fall-back. We always try to implement work-arounds so that players with a modded game are not screwed and don't lose their profile anytime they update their game to the latest version. With each change in the core of the game, the game add-ons usually need to be updated, too. Euro Truck Simulator 2 is still very much in development, and will be for years, and this evolution is an enemy of format stability. Anytime there is a major change in the core game, the DLCs need updating, too.

Coming up with a patch system that will handle all the changes for any random combination of DLCs a customer may have installed is not so simple. As complexity grows (especially from the point of view of the customer), it is highly desirable to have automated update system that will automagically update everything you have installed to keep it in sync, ideally from a fast cloud. Some big developers and publisher pulled this off on their own - Blizzard with BattleNet, World of Tanks, or League of Legends, they all do that. If you have millions of customers, there is a business case to develop and handle such things on your own to fully "own" the customer experience (and the customer). Truck sims however are still a niche genre. We have lots of customers (thank you!), but it's only a small fraction of the customer base of big games. We do not roll in massive profits to spend on non-core development. Investing into an complex automated delivery of updates and complex e-commerce would take focus, money, and programming capacity from what we prefer to do - improving our games and producing new ones from time to time. Fortunately, there is a very solid system out there handling all that and more, accepted by some 80 million PC players world wide. It's called Steam.

There is another very strong argument for us - customer support. Our support e-mails are every day flooded by people who have lost their Product Key and want us to look it up for them somehow, or try to persuade us that a key from pirate sources is really good and we should un-ban it, using social engineering skills to persuade us to give them keys. We now have two sets of non-Steam keys out in the wild for ETS2 and for Going East!, and the man-power needed to handle customer support related to Product Keys is far from negligible. Now imagine if there was a Product Key you would need to back up and type-in for each individual DLC, be it more map expansions, future cargo trailer packs, more paint job packs, specialized vehicles, whatever we come up with. We simply could not cope with it, in fact for you the players it would be a hell of an experience too. Anytime you need to re-install a computer, or re-install just the game, you would have to find 10 e-mails with Product Keys purchased over the past couple of years, maybe even from various sources. It gets really messy quickly. Instead, on Steam, once you buy a game or register a key, no matter from which source you got it, it's with your Steam account forever. No computer migration issues ever, no need to worry about patches, no need to ever get in touch with our support regarding keys, except for actual technical issues.

Still, we are not rushing anywhere. There is a stream of updates coming for ETS2 through 2014 that will be provided for any edition of the game. If things go well, there is a major map expansion add-on coming later this year that will not require Steam, but just like Going East! will just work with the retail version. But this will introduce a third set of non-Steam Product Keys, and we fear that this will be the limit of what the customers and our customer support can still deal with.

Why not end this blog post with something cool to think about for the weekend instead. Here is a couple of screenshots from a major as-of-yet unannounced ETS2 map expansion DLC!

We love ETS2, game hard and proud South Africans so lets all enjoy SCS hard work without classing others..Hope ver 1.10 is not gonna affect promods mod. Its has elevated ets2 somewhat ina different realm. There is no sim comparable to scssoft and keep growing we wwill support. I hate steam but you presented it with a different perspective

Next DLC is in Skandinavia.Denmark, Sweden... maybe Norway and Finland.And Ireland will be included in this game. I hope this.See the last photo in Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/297792/?snr=1_7_7_151_150_1

To be honest. It looks much better than the Promods road in this area. If SCS is also building custom junctions it would be the biggest succes SCS has ever had!! Hopefully Promods is not a big obstackle for SCS because Promods already covered this area. But there's FINALLY an official map-DLC coming!!!

Great thing about Pro Mods is that they have someone who works for SCS working with them on their Pro Mods map. So whatever SCS DLC brings us with "Going North", I'm sure Pro Mods team will be able to handle it.

Very good SCS. I tried to explain to everyone that the argument Steam vs Non Steam is ridiculous. SCS should focus on the game and on its support and those immature spoiled kids who are afraid to use Steam, should accept your policy and strategy.

Keep up the good job SCS.

By the way, to those that are in hurry for the Mercedes truck and the new DAF truck, they have to be aware that is not easy at all to adopt those in the game. SCS will need few months until everything to be ready; truck model, sound, game technology etc etc etc. Only those who are in game industry and software industry knows that nothing is made by pressing a magic button. Everything needs hard work and time.

So, keep calm and have patience, everything will be ready on time and surely SCS will not let you down, you have to wait for few more months and then you will have Mercedes in the game.

I thought that the DAF Euro 6 would be on 1.10 becase a truck needs 6 months to be made and we are already on the 6th month. So that means that the Daf Euro 6 will come in patch 1.11? And also the Mercedes MP4 will be released in September or October by going back to the announcement in April.

I'm a non-Steam user, and I don't really trust Steam anymore. But if I would lose my Steam account again.. for some reason and don't manage to get it back, would I be available to use the same product key to the game and the DLC's on another Steam account? I have saved all the e-mails where it says what DLC I bought etc, etc...

And the new DLC looks great! I'm from Norway and I really hope to see my country in the game. I have a very strong feeling that this DLC is a scandinavia DLC. :)

To both of you. I have actually lost 3 Steam accounts... I'll do it easy.1. Some weird s**t happened with the e-mail so I could not get the code you need when you use a Steam account on another PC. I never got it and tried to get help from Steam Support Center or whatever they are called, but I din't really get any help from them...

2. My account got stolen/hacked. Again, tried to get help form Steam but din't get any help..

3. The same as the first one, some weird s**t happened with the e-mail again.

And don't even try to say that my security was this and that and I probably lost 3 e-mails etc, etc..

To both of you Anonymous. I'm not here to start a fight okay.. I just said what happened to me the easy way and why I don't like Steam. I never said I won't go over to Steam. And of course my password was 123........ Really? How stupid do you guys think I am? And if my password was 123 you would need my e-mail to get a security code, unless they were using my PC. So just shut the fuck up.. I'm tired of people like you. And I lost my account over the years not 4 days in a row... Just shut up.

Maybe you should stop trying to pirate games then. The only way you can keep "losing" your account is if you manage to let hackers access it, usually by logging into keygens and the like.I have had a Steam account for over 10 years and have NEVER "lost" it.

Nice to read that YOU, as SCS Software also read the comments :D (bit crappy scentince, but never mind).

That makes me happy, because that confirms, that you also listen to the community. I know that you aren't a big company (i don't know with how much but not important) and that Steam makes it a lot easier, to bring out mini-DLCs like extra paintjobs and other kinda things. But I think, you should release big DLCs like that new map-dlc just like the original game, in store. Because you disadvantage the people that don't want steam for any reason.

Enough about Steam and all that things. Now about the new DLC. Great that you're making a new DLC. If I have to beleve the comments, you're going north! Nice! Also the pictures look nice. I also wonder how this will go with some map mods like ProMods. But, I/We shall see :) .

Thanks for all the things you are doing and keep up the good work! You are great and I will support you certainly, how long every project takes and blah blah blah ;)

Cant wait until the DLC! And i guess you will be having Norway too :3 Wonder what the promods guys says about this though xD And btw, remember the yellow middle lines in Norway, and bumpy small mountain roads ;)

I would love to see Scandinavia in the new update, ETS2 - Going North! That bridge on pic 2 is definitely the Fehmarn Belt Bridge between Germany and Denmark.The windmills on the background make it even more likely.

I can't wait to explore more of Europe, I'm almost at 100%.. (97.84% to be precise)

See, actually if you'd had a look at the previous comments, you would have seen the discussion about the Merc and the DAF. It takes about half a year to built such a model, so, if it is now 6 month, since they told us to built the DAF, the truck will be in the next patch, so 1.11. And the Volvo in ATS, well, this is a text about ETS2. Why don't u just write about ATS in a ATS blog entry?

Well, I hope it's Going North! Hope new trucks are coming soon! Also I would LOVE to see improved models of the older trucks, because they look dated and low-res compared to the newer trucks! Anyway, keep up the good work!!

Well, I've been using ProMods for a while now. And I like the way they do the map, but the additions like real company names and extra companies isn't what I want.Also, the whole 'wold' is in SCS style, and Promods makes some new junctions over the standard map, but not enough to make it 'their' map. So with a SCS map, I want a SCS dlc. And that is coming!

I don't really understand the product key problem. When I install the full game my key is verified, lets call this key the Master key. Then I buy several DLC's with their own products keys that also gets verified. Why not have a solution that keeps tracks of all my keys and merge the DLC keys with my "Master key". That way the customers and customer service only needs to handle one set of keys. It's like when you have 10 different keys to various doors.. keeping them separated all over the place is not very efficient, so either get a keyring or a master key :) Once everything has been installed and verified the only key needed is the "Master key" from then on. Just like a DLC becomes a part of the game, its key should merge with the original game key.

They already have a solution that keeps track of all of your DLC keys. It's called Steam. Why bother pulling resources away from core development (which, if you read the blog post, you'll know they can't really afford to do) to develop an in-house solution when Steam is readily available and likely already used by a majority of ETS2 players? It's not like switching to Steam is a hassle for retail owners, either, any retail key for ETS2 can be activated on Steam.

And this is what I love about you guys. You actually maintain a dialogue with your users (as opposed to the more common game dev monologue of "We're doing it this way and if you don't like it screw you") so while you are sticking to your decision to go Steam-only (which, yes, a part of the community hates but hey, you can't please all the people all the time), you are also being very open on your reasons for doing so, and those reasons make a ton of sense on multiple levels, both in terms of the customer experience (which my employer is all about) and in terms of profitability (the more time/money you can spend on your core product, the better the core product will be).

Congratz for who writed this announcement, is by far the friendliest and info-rich from Scs in months.About the game itself maybe you should focus more on things that matter, not 100% on graphics/paints whatever. You must keep ETS2 the trucker simulator we all love.About steam... if you don`t force anyone to use it, i`m sure people will stop hate it with so much passion.:P

I would like to thank you for this wonderful Simulation. I would also like to say i love the idea about steam. BUT. Ever since i started using steam, my ETS 2 have become a very unstable game, even without mods. Its a sad but true story, and i would like to inform its not the only game behaving like that. Steam is great, but like you said 80 million ppl running of what a couple of 100 servers with maybe a billion downloads an hour. But just to put that aside, ive been a great fan since the 18 wos series, and ETS 2 is by far your most outstanding work of all times. Its not only beatiful and massive of scale, but ETS series finally made it possible for me to drive in my part of the world, even though you never brought in Denmark wich still is a part of europe. But Promods managed to correct that and gave us up here in north Europe/Scandinavia, our roads to truck. With that said you properly heard this a billion times before, But it would be awsome to buy your own trailer, and with those trailers you have yourd have to think of wich one to use for what cargo you deside to go after. then maybe have a 1 or 2 min time at each loding bay to simulate the trailer being loadet. That would not only add more realism to the game, but it would also make it more interesting. Patience would be a key factor. Ive tried that in the real world, waiting for it to be your turn at the dock, some times even waited for hours for the factories/company´s to get to you. Just something to think about at least, and i think im not alone about that idea.

SCS Hi why want more american trucks to end american trailers and this update 1.10.1 i don't no if its only my but I don't feel the weight of the trailer when am pulling the trailer end its more like a race game now want happen to the simulator part of the game I think you guy's making this updates more like end arcade game who's with my guys don't get mad for my comment PS :-)

Product keys non Steam solution. An orginal game key is required to purchase DLC which then gives a new key for BOTH the DLC and the base game, this key is then used to allow future DLC purchases again creating a new key the base game and all previously purchased DLC meaning at any one time only one key is ever needed!

Your reasons sound logical to me, although I would never have expected that there are so many people contacting the support that this could become a serious problem for you. However, as I don't want to register at Steam, I'm afraid that I'll soon have to refrain from future ETS2 updates and maybe even from your upcoming games, e.g. ATS which I was really looking forward to.

And when I think back and ask myself how all this started, I come to the conclusion that this was when some crackers forced you to introduce the online product key validation process. Well, I think most us agree that it's a pity that selfish and fraudulent people's actions lead to that much trouble, and I do believe that Steam provides better solutions to product key handling problems than what your resources allow you to implement. But to be honest, I don't believe Steam will keep those who want to crack your games from doing so, especially as these games don't feature any multiplayer mode.

So wouldn't it be a nice idea to develop a CD validation system for your future games? Then those of us who don't want to use Steam could buy the box version of the game (as well as of the DLCs) and activate it (them) by loading the CD. Of course, every time the game is started, it would have to require the player to insert one of the discs. Another reason why I usually prefer CD validation to online activation is that if there are no servers involved, it can't impact the product activation process if the company running them decides to withdraw the service.

I know that what I just suggested is by far not perfect, for example because there will probably always be some countries where it's more difficult to acquire a box version of such a niche game as ETS2, but I think it would still be far better than forcing all your customers to use Steam.

And as far as the problems with delivering updates are concerned, my suggestion would be not to release every little patch for both the Steam- and the non-Steam-version of the game if you can't afford the effort it takes, but still to offer bigger updates for the non-Steam-version as well. These non-Steam updates wouldn't have to be very frequent: Every 6 to 12 months would be totally fine by me, as long as I know that you won't get me out of your heads, and that I'll sometime be able to enjoy all the great improvements you keep making.

And finally, to come to the last point I'd like to make in this comment: As some people may have noticed, there are some World-of-Trucks-only features for which a World of Trucks account doesn't seem to be a technically needed requirement at all. Could you please remedy this issue in one of the next patches? Or if you don't want to do so, would it at least be possible to tell us why you're forcing such unnecessary requirements upon your cutomers?

We still don't have an accurate number of customers for ETS2 / SCS games in general, but lets make an educated guess: lets say there are 1 million customers. Now, using this polls results (http://forum.scssoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=144645), around 30% or 300,000 copies of whatever won't get sold, when SCS goes steam only. That is, lets say 300000 * 7 € profit per DLC copy (price around 12€) profit lost. That is 2,100,000 €. Now answer this question: what makes more sense economically, going steam only and throwing away 30% customer base equalling 2,100,000 € (300,000 x 7 €) or employing 1 or 2 more noses for customer support dealing with licence keys and continuing a 2nd path of distribution. Guess the answer is clear. SCS argumentation in this blog is pretty flawed therefore (http://blog.scssoft.com/2014/05/retail- ... -more.html). Lets say these 2 customer support guys cost 50,000 € / year (most likely a lot less since they don't have to have dev quals), then even if only 10% (=700,000€ loss) or 5% (=350,000€ loss) customers boycott SCS when it's going Steam only and non retail it's already a considerable loss. So going Steam only is outright ... not really genious!

Conclusion: the added cost for more customer support is WAY less than the loss when going Steam only.

I cannot understand how to found those numbers and also how to made those calculations.

1. Everyone can buy the game DIRECTLY from ets2 website(http://www.eurotrucksimulator2.com) and NOT from Steam, they will use STEAM to active the game there.

2. Are you sure SCS will pay 30% to Steam?

3. You said SCS should employ 1-2 customer support representatives who will cost around 50,000 Euros per year. That not true, if SCS will have to hire support representatives they will have to hire at least 50 people who will provide 24x7 phone and email support. Those 50 people will cost a fortune.

4. The argument between Steam and Non Steam is very ridiculous. SCS made it clear; they want to use their time and resources to FOCUS on the game and only on the game. Now, if someone has problems to use Steam, and he lost his account or his account has been hacked, well, does he make sure that his computer is free of virus and free of malware? Does he make the required updates for this computer? Does he make the require updates to the latest Steam version? Does he make sure that his Steam password and account is FULLY protected? If not, then is not Steam's fault neither SCS's fault.

5. When SCS will hire you as their financial adviser then you can tell them your ideas AFTER you see the REAL numbers and the profits.

6. Calm down, SCS has clever people and believe me, those numbers and calculations you posted here, they double checked them and they thought about them a lot.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU PEOPLE, I MUST HAVE STEAM, ORIGIN, UPLAY, BATTLENET.... FOR PLAYING GAMES LIKE: DIABLO, BF3 (OR 4), CALL OF DUTY... MEDAL OF NONOR, TOMB RAIDER, GTA 4, ASSASINS CREED TRILOGY, AND ALL THE REST, ALSO , I RECEIVED COUPONS ON STEAM &Co FOR 4 GAMES WITH 2 VIDEO BOARDS (BATMAN, ASSASINS CREED 4 , SPLINTERCELL, ...AND NOW A COUPON FOR WATCH DOGS)....AND MANY OTHERS , THE GREAT MAJORITY !!!!!!!!!!!!PROBABLY YOU MAKE THE SAME, WITH THESE GAMES OR WITH OTHERS... AND YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT SCS's DECISION !!! IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING ABOUT STEAM, IT'S PROBABLY BECAUSE YOU FEEL THAT YOU DON'T OWN THE PRODUCT; in a way, me too, but thats the trend in all this industry...AND i NEVER HEARED SOMEBODY SAYING HE WILL NEVER PLAY CoD or BF, because it's on STEAM / ORIGIN>>> on another side, there are too many platforms for distributions, 3 were enough after me... ON-TOPIC now:AS LONG THE GAME WORTH AND IS ENRICHED WITH ANOTHER FEATURES AND DETAILS, DON'T MATTER HOW IT COME.... THOUGH I REPEAT, I AM NOT A FAN OF STEAM AND OTHER PLATFORMS...SO THIS IS THE DEAL, SCS, CONCENTRATE AND OFFER MORE FANTASTIC CONTENT FOR THE GAME, AS FOR NOW IT LACKS MANY FEATURES , DETAILS AND ACCESORIES.... IS FAIRLY GOOD, BUT NOT QUITE A SIMULATOR YET, THOUGH IS CLOSE...... AND THE PROBLEM IS , I HOPE TO NOT COST US 150-200 EUR... TILL IT SEEMS TO BECOME A SIM... I TRY TO SAY WITH THIS, THAT I WILL PAY FOR ANOTHER dlc WITH MAPS, TRAILERS, CUSTOM INTERIORS, ACCESORIES (TIRES, LIGHTS, SIDESKIRTS, BULLBARS, so on..), or even for the 4 remaining trucks, BUT NOT 2 EUR FOR 6 PICTURES.Also, please don/t forget about the initial trucks, some of them need a little rework too, and the initial map is so "empty" , dull, foreseeable, comparing to Go East ! The ''all he same JUNCTIONS'' make the game very boring ! And the same the limited variation of cargos and trade-stuff. but HOPE this will change, cause i know you COULD and you CARE ! WAITIN for this beautiful MAP !!! hope you will cover all NORTH (DENMARK, NORWAY, SWEDEN, FINLAND).

i forgot to mention that I hate MODS, because , as you said: " Very often when we change some internals in the engine, data formats of our game assets change. Mod community could confirm that things tend to break for them from time to time, even though we spend considerable time trying to provide a migration strategy or fall-back. We always try to implement work-arounds so that players with a modded game are not screwed and don't lose their profile anytime they update their game to the latest version. With each change in the core of the game, the game add-ons usually need to be updated, too"so THX for disabling speed limiter, future "seat adjuster" , all the bugs you have resolved or you are working on, the trucks, the maps... and hope to see more features soon.The physics are not perfect yet but you are on the good side ! Pls keep improving all that can be improved, it's a promising game (I want this to be more than a game, i want a SIM).

Scs I want to help you with your map expansion 1 I realize that you guys don't make a lot of traffic and that's what gets the game off because in reality Europes Autobahn and so on have traffic while this game doesnt lack as much traffic.so you guys should make even more traffic that way it will be the number one main thing.so please add more traffic as seen on this picturehttp://www.explorezealand.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/articles/e20_53.jpg?itok=bYdg3cif

look Italy was suppose to add another 4 cities but they couldnt... and they never really finished up Austria either. I mean for Austria all you got to do is add Graz and Klagenfurt. For Italy, well, they may add like another 12 cities... Oh and what about Hungary?

thats a stupid idea Let SCS do their work im sure they will do it right not at home when they got free time to play with game modding lets do this right without any bugs and free addons which are not supportedd bu DLC add on or even crash game

If I were SCS I rather work on different kinds of weather than a Map DLC. And really ETS2 is the only SCS Game with the most patches all the others had like 1, 2, or 3 patches or even none. This ETS2 has like over 10... What does this tell me? That this game needed a lot of help more than the others? Released with so many bugs?

well first of ProMods is going to allow compatibility for the new Map DLC, but I may just have 2 profiles: One for Going East! and ProMods map expansions and a 2nd one for SCS Map DLC's only. Besides ProMods is now doing Romania and Iceland too.

The 2nd objective I know every time when I play the game the autobahns always have hills and curvy curves when in reality its straight autoroutes that curve a little.Here's a example of what I mean curvy curve hill autobahnshttp://abload.de/img/ets2_000449fzdr.pngThis is what I mean by straight with curveshttp://www.gtplanet.net/forum/attachments/800px-a_20_bei_langsdorf-jpg.103085/There's a big difference between the two pictures I'm just saying you want it to be more realistic

SCS the 3rd objective is the land.when driving on the autobahn,autoroute,motorway,etc the land is really never completely flat plains,it always big hills with long skinny trees as a exhttp://abload.de/img/ets2_00003rcbav.png

That is not how it is in reality instead its like this realityhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Autobahn_A44_1.jpgNotice there is no trees but instead big bushes and also notice the land is flat that is how it should be in the game.

"Now imagine if there was a Product Key you would need to back up and type-in for each individual DLC, be it more map expansions, future cargo trailer packs, more paint job packs, specialized vehicles, whatever we come up with. We simply could not cope with it, in fact for you the players it would be a hell of an experience too".

Simple solution, release them as mods, not patches. It's not like we have to pay for them, patches are free.

The next DLC map expansion is going to northern countries , isn't it? , but is this will have issues with Promod's guys mod? , cause they already released these countries , i tought you were working with such talented modders....

Thanks for writing this blog post! It really shows how you care about us, customers. Now there should not be any arguments between people about Steam. I don't support Steam, but this blog post answers everything I've been wondering about your move.

You will develop ETS2 for a long time, so there will be a lot of content. Some of it will also be free. It's great, keep everyone happy! If you were to make new content that is something that everyone really has to have, let it be free! There are many games nowadays that require people to spend ridiculous amounts of money on DLC's, that should be added as free update. Those games can miss core elements of gameplay and the base content could be very small. The way you have done this, is the best way!

I really love older games. Especially yours. I can set resolution and quality in game settings on FullHD and max. Then I use Nvidia control panel to set antialiasing, anisotropic filtering, texture quality and everything to absolute maximum. If you have free time, try it yourself on Bus Driver and Deer Drive. It gives them a new life. I backup my games for future use. They should be playable in the future, they are pieces of history and culture, more valuable than most of modern art. Games have a lot of love and work on them. That's one of the biggest reason why I've been opposing Steam. Those games on Steam will be forgotten for example, if there's bankcrupty or DRM involved. Pirates might save the cracked version. I've seen already many games go extinct. It's a loss, they should have been saved.

I wish that you, as an independent game studio, promise every customer to get a free non-DRM copy of the game, when the game hasn't been supported for 5-15 years. With every update and addon. I don't know how you could be restricted from doing that.

I have one question. Will upcoming games be sold only on Steam? I would like to buy them from your website or some other site as I don't want to support Steam anymore. It has grown big enough and I want that my money goes directly to you. No-one else should take any of that money.

Wuoh after so much time without any news about "terrain" expansions its great to know we are going North. I really hope some day we will get (it should be next) the Going West DLC with whats left till the Iberiar Peninsula, as seems that Promod´s work is really going quite well for those nordics : P.

i got a question im a CDROM original version user who always like to pay for add ons but only original ones im confused about Steam users and cd-r users My serial key will work on steam or not then coz i dont want to pay twice for same game and add ons to get access to steam

i want to say thank you to WHOLE SCS TEAM for such a great work and lovely updates i heard that evven multiplayers is now on ::))))

I know the next DLC is not officially announced yet, but is it possible to tell us how far into development it is?

I have no future plans about using Steam because of personal opinions and beliefs, so I certainly hope you will treat your loyal fans well whichever ways you go. Either you are buying a boxed version of ETS2 or buying an online Steam version, you are only buying a license to play it. I believe there are pros and cons about Steam, but when using Steam your are tied to an EULA, and every time Valve updates it, you have to accept it or loose forever access to your bought games, etc.

In the end, I like how SCS treats their customers and letting them take part in development.

Il come again on the comments of this announcement to give my point of view. I just and simply have to say: NO, NO and NO for Steam!

I repeat hereunder what I have written in the comments of the announcement for patch 1.10.

From the very first beginning of ETS2, we have the opportunity to buy directly the game on SCS website. From the release of ETS2, in October 2012, there is no other requirement than buying the game, downloading it, installing it, and playing it.

But now, if you, SCS, go to Steam, if customers are forced to go through Steam to have a game properly working, then, this is an unfair commercial behaviour and decision.

On the “BUY” page of your website, you clearly mention “No additional downloads”.

Yet, considering the fact that Steam requires the download and installation of the Steam Software, you will be then in contradiction with your own selling conditions!

This is a labelling con. The goods are clearly not what they are represented as being.

SCS: Just some food for thought in response to your decisions on Steam. I have been gaming since the early days (circa 1980) when computers were still very much in their experimental stages, so I'm not insensitive or ignorant to programming (I've written many of my own), development, and communications. My point is this, and it is something you need to consider: Steam (Valve), though it has been around for approximately 12 years, is a 3rd party client server. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, but for those reading this that may not, I will explain. Even in the 80's we had 3rd party software, or more simply put, a program that requires another program to run. 3rd party software has it's good points and bad points for which I will concentrate on the bad points as they tend to far out-weigh the good. 1) any program that uses 3rd party software must allow a second "back door" into their program so that each developer may make needed changes over time. While this may seem harmless, the truth is that adding this second "back door" makes a program approximately 40% easier to hack and permits the hacker to do so with a 15% - 20% chance of being undetected. Steam has all ready been compromised more than once and while no one is exempt from hacking (not even home pc users), these on-line 3rd party clients are "public domain" which makes them excessively easy for hackers to take control. 2) While Steam has been around for more than a decade, are you really willing to bank on it's existence in the next 5, 10, or 20 years? As a gamer, I don't mind the idea that programs like Steam have proposed to us, but what I don't like is not having a physical copy of the game I purchase which is why I prefer retail. Should anything happen to Steam (bankruptcy, sale or transfer of company, liquidation, corporate scandal, etc.) all those that have purchased their games through this 3rd party client server will lose all their games because they are not buying the game, they are purchasing the right to PLAY it, not OWN it. With Steam, gamers can play THROUGH it but not WITH it. As your games have shown (ETS2 in particular), it is possible to produce the game on both platforms. This may be extra work and yes, it may save you time and money, but please consider the future not just the past and present standing of Steam. I love ETS2 and am truly looking forward to the release of ATS, but PLEASE, offer it in a non-Steam format. I for one do not mind having to wait a little longer for patches and updates and I don't mind manually downloading and installing them. It actually gives me peace of mind in knowing that I have a physical copy of the game and it's fixes. Please, SCS, for the sake of your loyal fans that have stood by you so faithfully since the days of Hard Truck, look to the future and consider the options. Thank you for being one of the few that really listens to your customers and for producing great simulation games. I look forward to ATS in non-Steam, but in the end, I know it is your decision to make.

Umm...you're saying that because you have family working at Steam that anyone that doesn't use it is a low-life? As far as Steam functioning 99.9%, let's make that 95% and while Steam is up-to-date, I'm not downing anyone that uses it. I'm simply trying to point out the pitfalls we all tend to know are there but sometimes refuse to acknowledge. Further, I actually have re-purchased games I have lost the key for (3 so far over the course of 30 years) so I agree with you on that point. I'm not judging, either, just making my plea. I do still have a right to that, don't I?

Argument about reinstalling , several emails etc with me not pass . Because I have the original game from the store , all patches are kept in one component , email , perhaps even with the DLC Product Key options ( as I have myself) , can also be saved as a file / folder ( eg Office to be saved as an Outlook item ) that can be backed up to a USB drive on .. - even after possible reinstalling the game , or operating system , and installing a mail client can reopen the mail from that folder. Moreover, as you have written here recently , and I quote : " We are seriously considering shifting all updates and expansions to Steam infrastructure over time , most likely in 6-12 months timeframe . " If I understand if you do this step , I think you lose enough fans. Patch 1.10.1 on Thursday I saw the official pages , and I'm glad for color metal front here . I was wondering in those colors - you could do , such as . even when Needforspeed Carbon or Prostreet that more layers of paint can give the truck - yellow Volvo example I click on another layer and then I can give the tribals , that the result would be yellow Volvo with white- blue tribals , and not as now , that either this or that. I also think it would not hurt to put " chrome " disk ( eg Eastern Eagle, Alloy Vision ... ) more shine , let matt do not perform as now ; also , for example . Scania front mask only in black or gray , but also in body color - these are just my suggestions for improvement. The Bridge on the screen reminds me of Pon de Normandie , but apparently it's not him, but about a completely different bridge . About a month ago , I read somewhere , someone wrote, that diligently working on DLC Scandinavia - have no idea what 's the truth , but it pleased many fans . But I firmly hope that soon we will see even Portugal, Spain and the rest of France, Italy or even Slovenia, Croatia...I'm sorry for my bad English

maybe someone can answer me here. I'm moving out of country soon, obviously I will install ETS at some moment. Do I have to announce anyone from the SCS team about this because from what I know, serial keys get blocked when SCS sees that they are used my multiple people from different locations.

I work my map and play on both versions, normal and Steam ... and I have complete NEW PC , so it can "eat" your game ;)

But I must tell you (I have good connection to Internet) that I have a lot more lagging on Steam !! So, in basic I dont like Steam at all because of that .... when I turn Radio, than I have more lagging normal, right...and yes, that way this work with Steam ....

but if you'll decided to put everything there. ... lol ... then we must "take it or leave it " .... it is on you ....

And we wait on this new DLC , come on , time is money ;) ;) ... hehehe :) :)

I also use Steam. But still, I would like to commemorate the Box and because of that if something bad happens on Steam. And after all, it memento of my child's children.

I know that the current passes through the ice all the web server, but there is always something unexpected can happen and then what tehdään.Sen because the box is a good idea to be there. Buy all the possible and the so-called "important" Box games, even if they move in Steam.

Nevertheless, the decision is SCS, but you should still think about that, how to lose a lot of customers if the product is solely dependent on Steam.

Have a nice day everyone. And Snovakor, I look forward to the new version. regards the "old man"

Personally, i'd prefer more truck/trailer additions, some different styles of trailers, wide loads? Long trailers, perhaps even rear steer? More customization of trucks maybe as well, perhaps even a few of the old trucks being brought back?

Thanks for Scandinavia!I have to suggestions: 1. Have a option in game so you can more easily see were you haven't driven on the map. For the moment it's impossible to see the gray areas in cities.2. Have a option so you can reset the truck mirrors.

SCS . I have the original game purchased by the SCS website. As you may know , the ETS2 works by Steam with cod , but unfortunately Expansion GOING EAST EXTENSION not tried in various ways and will not, just do not install in ETS2 , leaving as the original sim , works perfect , so we asked for DLC put the site too, right ta doing BETA TEST with some Steam gamers , ok I agree , but with all due respect I ask you to put those who have purchased the game Ets2 with you , as for example the password GOING EAST EXTENSION is posted by you on my email . We are not charging anything else, just criticizing an idea of who has the game for another purchase , the same terms that Steam . ok. ? How do you put the DLC 1.10.1 with just a hint of metallic custom color, and who have purchased the game through Steam has all . That I never agree. ! I hope you understand our request , we want to be equal for all , after all overpaid the game and expansion .

Why on Earth would SCS make Scandanavia DLC? Promods has done this already and have done a darn great job at it, SCS maybe go South West or possibly further east. Please don't go North it's already been done ;0

"because not every wants to use a map extension made by a player no matter how good it is. In fact a large chunk of people don't use mods at all. Or like me some have a defualt profile and a moded one."

please understand that, and no more ask for trucks, they will be out when will be finished... maybe SCS hadn't working all the days on that truck, so it could be a little more than 6 months... ..And mercedes will be out after ~ 6 months from now, maybe more, as they are focusing on ATS. Till then, we have mods... though i don't like them.